Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to shelves. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved adjustable shelf to be used in cupboards, pantries, and the like.
State of the Related Art
It is a common practice in kitchens to have numerous small jars and containers on hand for various uses in cooking, such as salt, spices, herbs, and other ingredients. In common cabinets, there is no way to store these small containers without wasting a significant amount of space above the container, or attempting to stack the containers vertically in a haphazard fashion (which even then often results in empty space above the two stacked containers). Additionally, the depth of most common cabinets makes it difficult to reach containers stored in the back of the cabinet.
To further compound this problem, it is common for these small containers to be stored in the same cabinet with taller containers. This type of storage makes it easy for the small containers to become blocked from view. Because of these problems, a person cooking cannot easily find ingredients in small containers when they are needed, and often purchases a duplicate ingredient because they did not realize they already had the ingredient hidden in their cupboard.
Some modern cupboards are provided with shelves that are easily adjusted to various heights. However, even if the shelf can be adjusted to a shorter height so as to not sacrifice space when storing small containers, this still has the undesired effect of containers being hard to locate. If small containers are stored on a low shelf such as this, any container not in the front of the shelf is hidden from view. The container will be difficult to retrieve when needed (the person having to move any container in front of it out of the cupboard to locate it and reach it). This can be time consuming and frustrating when trying to locate one or more needed containers.
Various devices have been used to attempt to solve these problems. For example, spice racks have become common. However, these racks often take up a significant amount of counter space. Even if they can be placed in the cupboard, they only allow containers of one predetermined sized to be placed in them. Most designs, such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,686 are not adjustable, and thus do not maximize the storage potential of an individual cupboard or cabinet. Other designs, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,137, use telescoping portions to adjust to the size of the cupboard. However, this design also leaves a significant amount of wasted spaced. None of the designs according to prior devices allow the user to easily adjust the shelf to fit in different sized cabinets, are both easy to manufacture and install, and maximize the potential to store small-sized containers of varying shapes in an accessible manner.
Thus there is a need for an improved adjustable shelf and method of using the same. The improved adjustable shelf should be simple in construction, and easy to manufacture and install in existing cupboards and cabinets. The shelf should allow for quick adjustment to various sizes. Also, the improved adjustable shelf should make the most of the storage space, utilizing space, which is otherwise wasted or inaccessible.